A Particular Day in Autumn

He nodded, puzzled by his reaction. Mars was adorable, but he sure was strange...

"Well, yeah. I mean, you'll probably want to do you own laundry and I'll teach you how to make meals for when I'm not home, but beyond that I can't really think of anything you have to do. I'm a very easygoing man, you see. Anyway, is that a problem? Would you prefer, like, a schedule, or something?"

He nodded.

"Yes! A schedule would be nice!" He didn't mean to sound horrified, but he definitely did. "I like order and schedules and lots and lots of rules. You should definitely give me more rules."

He wasn't even sure what he was saying anymore, but he just couldn't stop feeling horribly panicked. Without rules, he would give into sin, and those sins would corrupt him and he'd become evil and untoward. He shuddered just thinking about it.

He laughed. What an odd kid.

"But don't you think that if you become reliant on rules, you won't be able to make decisions for yourself? Humans are free beings. God made us so. That means that we just have to keep His word in our minds and hearts, and we'll be fine no matter what we do."

He calmed down considerably after hearing that. If Priestly thought so, it must be true...So he tried to calm down and quietly think up a schedule for himself, anyway. And lots of rules.

"So, uhm...what about your favorite color and, uh, stuff?" He asked suddenly, hoping to distract himself from his thoughts.

Priestly steepled his fingers, his expression turning thoughtful. The question was rather insignificant, but he wanted to give a good answer anyway.

"...All of them," he replied after a while. "Well, no, I suppose that isn't true--I used to like neon magenta, but nowadays I suppose I favor blue or red. Does that help?"

He nodded, even if the answer was sort of weird. In all respects it had been quite weird. But if Priestly liked red, that made him happy. He'd be sure to remember they shared a favorite color.

"What about your hobbies?" He asked. Surely Priestly was more interesting than he was.

He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it when he looked at Mars. He repeated this process several times, seemingly not finding something suitable to say. Finally, he shrugged and scratched his head.

"...Prayer. I enjoy prayer. And I also like meeting new people, and spreading the word of God and doing His work."

He looked sort of proud but sort of disappointed. That was it? He seemed more boring than Mars, somehow.

"...that's all?" He asked, unable to resist. There had to be something more interesting about him. Something else awesome.

He smiled awkwardly. Of course, there was much more to his life, it just wasn't meant for underage ears.

"Uh, let's see...well, you know what my job is. I enjoy that. I'm also fond of...dancing, and attending parties. Ah, cooking is fun, too, I enjoy cooking though I don't normally do so for anyone besides myself."

It wasn't exactly what Mars was expecting, but it was better than the first answer. Priestly had to be much more interesting than just liking prayer.

Yes, partying and dancing was more exciting, he supposed. If not a bit strange. At least the cooking thing was normal...

He chuckled nervously. Perhaps he had made a rash decision in bringing Mars home. Either way, it was too late to go back now.

"I do have more hobbies," he tried to explain. "It's just...they're for adults, you see. Very private. I may tell you someday, but for now they're top-secret."

He resented that entire speech. He couldn't care less about Priestly's 'secret' hobbies anymore, he was angry because he was an adult!

"I'm an adult!" He insisted. "In two months I'll be sixteen!"

He laughed.

"No, no, I mean I'll tell you when you get to be my age. It's not for young adults, it's for...adult adults. Plus, buy then, I'll have learned to trust you--it isn't a secret I can just spread to anyone." This, of course, was complete bullshit; Priestly frequently told them his liberal views of sex within his first fifteen minutes of meeting them. Mars didn't need to know that, however.

"Well, fine, how old are you?" He asked, still pouting. He was sure Priestly couldn't be much older than twenty. It was four years, he could wait that long, he decided. It would be annoying waiting, but he knew he could wait. Besides, he was sure he would get him to tell him earlier.

Priestly smiled mischievously.

"...Twenty-two," he replied in a vague, teasing tone of voice. It would be fun to watch Mars puzzle over the answer.

He frowned. Six years? He could take four, not six.

"That's not fair! Why do I have to wait so long?" He said, pouting deeper. "I'll be an adult when I'm 18, why doesn't that count?"

He chuckled, highly amused. He held Mars's hand again, giving him an amused look. Such an odd, odd child.

"Fine, fine, eighteen will do. That will be plenty of time, in fact. I'm sure we'll be thick as thieves by then."

Thick as thieves sounded like a strange thing to be, but Mars didn't really mind at the time.

However, fast-forwarding two months made quite the difference.

It was December 1st, and it was snowing. Mars loved when it snowed on his birthday, because it was normally the first snow of the year.

He wasn't happy that particular December, though. He had thought living with Priestly would be awesome, but it was so hard to get used to. He found himself disliking the man more and more each day. He figured he would just make himself some eggs and feel better, which is why he currently found himself in the kitchen, staring into the fridge.

There were no eggs to be found, however.

Priestly slid into the room, grinning broadly. He had been respectful of the occasion, and there was no one waiting his bedroom for once. After all, he had needs--spiritual needs.

"Maaaaarsy~" he called, leaning against counter and waggling his eyebrows. "Do you know what happens in two hours? It's something very special~"

He grumbled a response, then pointed to the fridge.

"There are no eggs." He said grumpily. He wanted his eggs. Needed them to survive, man. Well, not really, but they would've made a nice pick-me-up for poor Mars.

"I used them all to make a special dinner," he replied. "Because in case you forgot, it's your special day, and in two hours your carriage turns back into a pumpkin and you become sixteen. Exciting, isn't it? I remember when I turned sixteen--so many opportunities that year, so many people. I believe my hair was still long back then...but of course, today isn't about me. It's about the cute little Marsy standing in front of me, right?"

He smiled brightly, reaching for Mars's hand.

He not so casually sidestepped him, making sure Priestly didn't get a hold of his hand. He didn't want to touch him, it always felt too nice. He didn't want to feel nice, he wanted to feel grumpy because he didn't have eggs.

"I'm going back to my room." He said, heading for the door. "To read."

Priestly wrapped his arm around Mars's waist. He pulled him close, grinning like a cat. Whenever he made that expression, it usually meant bad things for Mars.

"But Marsy, it's your birthday~ I can't let you stay all by yourself. I don't even have any company for tonight, because I want to focus on you. I have something important to tell you, you know..."

His expression darkened at the mention of Priestly's typical company. At first he had assumed much differently about that company. Now he was definitely skeptical. He tried to push those thoughts to the back of his mind, though.

Now that he was pressed against Priestly, he groaned.

"Let me go." He mumbled irritably. He just wanted to cuddle him and forget about all the bad things Priestly had ever done. But he didn't. He stayed grumpy.

He grabbed his hand, playing with it.

"Oh, come on--we can cuddle and watch your favorite movie~ You know you love when we do that. I enjoy it too."